When a team of Children's Express reporters accepted an assignment to visit Newcastle Upon Tyne's Laing Art Gallery recently, the prospect didn't exactly fill all of us with excitement. Nine-year-old Christie Newby thought it would be boring, but much to her surprise found she enjoyed it thoroughly. 'Absolutely brilliant.' she said.
We focused on two exhibitions currently running at the gallery - Art on Tyneside and Masterpieces in the Millennium, featuring the most popular works from the Laing collection. We particularly enjoyed the Art on Tyneside display which integrates pictures and videos and gives an interesting account of Geordie history. It showed what life was like in Newcastle before we were born and how people lived together in the community and how everyone looked out for each other. You could also watch videos about how fashions were and the way streets looked in the olden days.
A number of the paintings in the Masterpieces of the Millennium exhibition also really caught our attention. Twelve-year-old Sonia McAthey liked a picture titled Highland Bothy by Miles Burkit Foster. 'It is of a woman feeding a baby cow with some milk outside a cottage on a farm. You have seagulls, chickens and dogs eating from a cauldron. Youve actually got quite some detail in this picture.' she said.
Christie was able to relate her own experiences of being at a local funfair while looking at a fairground picture by Theresa Lessore. 'It looks colourful and fun. I feel just like they did in those days when I go to the fair'. Another favourite of Christie's was Isabella and the Pot of Basil by William Holman Hunt because she felt it looked more like a photograph than a painting. 'I have just read about it and it says that Isabella's brothers had killed her lover and she kept his head in a pot which she is holding.'
We were less impressed with the new Petty Crimes Exhibition at the museum showing contemporary images of childhood play. It is not recommended for young people but Sonia thought the sign saying it may be unsuitable needed to be bigger. We were particularly shocked and disgusted by parts of a video that showed two girls knitting what looked like a jumper, but turned out to be a garment they used to completely cover a man's body before he was put in a bath and drowned.
'When I war sitting and watching it three young children came in and were asking their mam what they were doing [in the video],' said Lindsay Marchant, 16, who felt young people were likely to look at the video while their parents were distracted by the paintings. We all felt this should not have been shown in a place where young people could see it.
Apart from this exhibition we were very impressed by the Laing. It even has a colourful children's gallery for the under-fives. But we thought more could be done to explain paintings to young people in the main display areas apart from cards next to exhibits. Some of our suggestions included using more cartoons, leaflets and videos.
Myths And Monsters, Hancock Museum, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Dragons, cyclops and unicorns have come back to life at Newcastle's Hancock Museum. The exhibition opened in May and aims to show young people myths and monsters from around the world. It costs f2.50 to enter for children aged four to 16, but you also get to look around the rest of the museum as well, which our team enjoyed. The Myths and Monsters display is certainly not for the faint-hearted. 'As I went through the door I thought something was going to pop out,' said nine-year-old reporter Jade McDonald as she entered the darkened space. 'I was excited.' This was only the start of the many surprises the exhibition offers. Scott Rainey, eight, thought a model cyclops on display was going to hit him over the head - it looked so life-like.
The team felt the display was well planned. 'There's loads of exciting stuff in it', said Scott. 'It's fun and has loads of surprising places'. Everyone found something which captured their imagination. Ashton Clothier liked the 'lovely' white unicorn which he described as 'cute and tall'. Jade spotted a modern chimera which she described as 'a bat which looks like it's dancing. It looked like half bird and half bat.' Another chimera was a tiger, goat and snake in one animal.
But the piece that received most attention was the cyclops. Its realistic features and sheer enormity captured the attention of the museum visitors. Ashton, nine, said 'the cyclops was the best in the whole museum'. It was also Scott's
favourite display. 'It was disgusting, it had blood coming out of its mouth with hairs on its tongue He ate this horrible meat and he's only got one eye, which moves', said Scott, who is eight.
It was this realism our team wanted to see more of. Laura Gurkin, 12, suggested there should be 'more scary stuff like people jumping out on you in costumes'. However everyone found the staff welcoming and helpful and the atmosphere good.
The list of activities impressed us. You get a sheet when you come in and a woman tells you to go around and look for stamps. You get your clues from the sheet. Other events include mask-making, story-telling and live animal sessions.
Our team thought the scary nature of some of the exhibits, especially the one-eyed monster, might frighten some younger children. The rest of the museum is not quite so scary and well worth a visit. The stuffed animals were some of the best things in the museum, said Scott. So if you don't mind being spooked and fancy a bit of natural history thrown in too, the Hancock Museum has it all. It's exciting and great fun.
About the team
These reviews were produced by editor Lindsay Marchant, 16, and reporters Sonia McAthey, 12, Laura Gurkin, 12, Ashton Clothier, nine, Scott Rainey, nine, Scott McDonald, nine, and Christie Newby, nine. They were published in the Museums Journal.
